Prom has been a high school tradition for as long as anyone can remember. Buying fancy attire and getting dressed up is something most high schools look forward to. But when did the prom begin and was prom like this?

Prom once called promenade, which means the formal, introductory parading of guests at a party. Since then it has been shortened to what is known today.

Prom started as a social event for young people to learn social etiquette as well as manner. Northeast colleges in America around the 1800s used this as the last class before graduation. Or they would often use this as a graduation party of sorts.
But it wasn’t until 1900 that prom became a high school “thing”. When people started to think that they should be teaching the future generations before they go out into the world or society.

At first, proms were a simple tea dance. . In the 1920-1930s prom had expanded into an annual thing class banquet and then dance afterward. In the 1950s prom became more of what it is now known as today.

Prom attire hasn’t always been what it is today. In the early proms, the dress code was Sunday best or the equivalence of really nice church clothes. Prom’s dress code evolved in wearing “party clothes.” In the 1950s is when the dress code changed for the last time into something more elegant as well as elaborate attire.

The tradition is still going strong in America and most parts of the world. This is a tradition that many seniors look forward to as it’s their last year of high school.